Deep in the woods of the Big Thicket National Preserve four men wearing vests, goggles and orange hardhats are standing around an eight-foot drill. The drill is connected to a blue tube that winds around trees and shrubs and connects to a small white cylindrical object a few hundred feet away. The saucer-like object sitting in the unspoiled forest looks like a space ship that landed in the middle of the woods .

The men are conducting seismic exploration for Omni Resources, an exploration company. They drill the hole 80 feet deep, push a charge down to 17 feet, then put bentonite clay in to seal it. Later, the charges will explode underneath the ground to provide a three dimensional view for surveyors who will walk through with geophones. In January, the surveyors will gather data and sell it to oil companies that will then determine if they want to drill for oil and gas in the 1,400 acres of national preserve.

"We’re just trying to get good data and minimize the footprint,” said Bubba Davis who oversees the project for Omni. “Drilling these holes is the most intrusive thing we’re doing and after a good rain you wont even be able to notice them.”

To ensure that is the case, the National Parks Service requires the presence of a third party monitor on all oil and gas exploration projects. Monitoring the Omni drilling are Gary Kowalski and Arthur Perkens of Dixie Environmental Services Company. Because large swaths of land are cleared for the company’s tractor to operate, the most salient regulations for this particular project are designed to protect old-growth trees and endangered species. No trees greater than three inches in diameter may be cut and sensitive species, such as the Texas trailing phlox plant and canebrake rattlesnake (which make their home in the preserve) must not be disturbed when cutting the trail for the tractor. To do this a 50-foot buffer has been established between exploring operations and areas where these species may be present. Kowalski and Perkens meet with the Omni crew to go over the environmental regulations and potential ecological hazards every day.

Despite the protective measures taken by monitored seismic exploration companies, the practice raises concerns over this use of country’s first national preserve.

Maxine Johnson, a retired librarian is a pioneer in the movement to preserve the Big Thicket, recognized by the United Nations as one of the most biodiverse locations in the world.

"We have the very best example of many plant samples you can find, “she said, “and if you were walking through (the forest) and you came upon a big drilling rig and all these motors and things were running and you would see oil pits and slush pits and the smell... I think that would be lacking in aesthetic value.”

Johnson questioned the priorities of the NPS, which she said should be working to preserve the forest and educate the public about important ecological treasures.

"The fact they have an oil and gas specialist and not a biologist on staff says a lot about their priorities.” Johnson said.

NPS oil and gas specialist Doug Hutter said improved technology over the past twenty years has reduced the environmental impact of seismic exploration. One technique, slant drilling, allows companies to drill on private lands outside the preserve and extract oil and gas from under the federally protected forest. One oil company, Davis Brothers, owns four wells near the preserve and is currently slant drilling. Hutter said slant drilling minimizes impact on the preserve. But conservationists have argued that the sensitive ecosystems are vulnerable and that surrounding lands should provide a buffer against industry and development.

Dan Lavery, oil and gas spokesperson with the Sierra club in Washington D.C. agreed that exploration and drilling have improved with regard to environmental impact but said there is still cause for concern. “It still boils down to taking a toxic substance and transporting it across a sensitive area. . . There is evidence that ground water can be contaminated up to 100 miles away.”

Hutter defended the NPS saying stringent environmental assessments and extensive public comment periods are conducted for every project. But he admitted that public input carries little weight because the government does not own mineral rights to oil and gas below the national forest. Under Texas mineral law, the government can only regulate what happens on the surface and cannot deny private owners access to what lies beneath.

"It would take a substantial controversy to delay the project,” Hutter said.
That is a cause for concern, according to Houston Sierra Club’s forestry chair Brandt Mannchen. Mannchen complained that he was notified of the seismic exploration proposal in November, one month before the comment period began but three months after the project had already started.

Mannchen objected to what he sees as the priority given to oil and gas companies under the Bush administration, saying the NPS, within recent years, has been interpreting regulations designed to protect public lands in a way that makes it easier for exploration and drilling.

He said he also hopes to raise public awareness of the potential costs of drilling compared with the small benefits. For example, the environmental assessment on the Omni project estimated the potential oil underneath Big Thicket would fuel the United States for three hours. The report found the Thicket’s natural gas supply would fuel the country for one day."It takes a lot of time effort and money for the park service to monitor gas activities when instead they should be protecting plants and animals and studying nature and providing educational tours for the public.” Manchen said.

Environmentalists and park service officials did agree on one thing. Both sides said perhaps the only way to permanently prevent drilling on Big Thicket, would be for the federal government to purchase rights to the oil and gas beneath it.